Naturally enough the campaign raised the ire of some who considered the slogan inherently sexist and crass, even if they had no problem with the idea of female-only gyms sheltering women from sexist and crass men. Several complaints went to the Advertising Standards Board but all were dismissed. One man speculated what would the response be if a pub had a No dogs and definitely no pussy sign posted outside.

Fernwood earlier had to seek exemptions from anti-discrimination codes for all the states in Australia to recruit female staff and members only, becoming an important precedent for future rulings.

Whatever the merits of anybody's arguments, according to Fernwood's founder, the ensuing discussions about the slogan generated an additional $200,000 worth of media coverage, along with a surge in Fernwood gym membership.